


Differential Diagnosis

by NyxEtoile, OlivesAwl



Series: Legacy of the Tower [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Original Work
Genre: Domestic Avengers, F/M, Kids of Characters, Legacy Characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 23:33:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17456390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyxEtoile/pseuds/NyxEtoile, https://archiveofourown.org/users/OlivesAwl/pseuds/OlivesAwl
Summary: Differential Diagnosis, noun, A medical term for the process of differentiating between two or more conditions which share similar signs or symptoms“It was nice hanging out with you tonight,” Roger said quietly."It was." Asima met his gaze. "You're good company.”That made him smile. “Well. Sometimes.”"Sometimes," she agreed. Untangling her fingers from her shirt, she slid it across the seat and touched his hand. He turned it over, tangling his fingers with hers. His hand was very warm and soft. She ran her thumb along the side of his hand.When he gave her a little tug it seemed very natural to scoot closer to him. It was very dark and private in the back of that car. Almost in their own little world. It should have been absolutely crazy, but it seemed the most natural thing when he leaned in and kissed her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another Legacy story, this time featuring the Hulk's daughter and the Winter Solider's son. What could possibly go wrong?

Asima almost never got to have fun anymore. She'd known the path to becoming a doctor was a hard one. She was certainly surrounded by enough of them to hear all the horror stories. And for the most part, she didn't mind the long hours or exhausting days. But she did, sometimes, feel like life was passing her by as she watched her cousins date and hang out with each other.

So it had been a minor miracle to get the night off to join the rest of them at Edie's restaurant opening. Literally everyone showed up, including cousins she hadn't seen in years. 

“We’re both here,” Roger Barnes said in greeting. “Who’s watching the hospital?” Him she saw quite frequently, as they worked in the same building, but mostly all they ever did was wave.

"Maybe it'll burn down in our absence and we'll get a vacation.”

“We’ll be doing burn unit triage in the parking lot.”

She shuddered. "Ugh. Burns.”

“I’m going to go get some scotch.” His eyes shifted towards the door. “Your brother’s here.”

She turned, expecting to see AB, but instead, there was Neil. "Holy hell.”

“This crew knows how to turn out,” Roger said. “I’ll give them that.”

"We support out own," she agreed. She touched his arm, then went over to say hi to Neil.

Neil didn’t do well with strangers, or large crowds, so Asima sat next to him. She’d have expected AB to sit on the other side, but Franny Bennett was there. . . and over the course of dinner she got the distinct impression they were, well, together. Admittedly, she hadn't seen Neil with a lot of girlfriends, but she liked to think she knew him pretty well. And he was definitely acting like Franny had made it into his monkey sphere.

Between the main meal and dessert, they all rearranged their seating to clump up and talk with new people. She ended up with a bunch of the girls exchanging weird coworker stories and got to whip out a few of her stranger ER experiences.

“Are you complaining about your ER rotation again?” Roger called from across the table. 

"Talking about things in people's butts," she called back.

“Funny, that was a feature of my ER rotation, too.” He got up, dragging his chair closer to where she was sitting. “Also things little kids shove up their noses.”

"I got a few of those. The butts are funnier. Kids will happily tell you they shoved a toy car up their nose. Adults are oddly hesitant to admit what they think can be used as a sex toy.”

“In this day and age I don’t get why they don’t just go and _buy_ a real one.”

"You can get them on the internet," Rei Wilson commented. "It's simpler.”

“The next medical show I work on is going to have a side plot about butt stuff,” Annie said.

“Comedy or drama?” Roger asked.

“I can make it work for either. Admittedly, comedy is better.” She looked at Asima. “I’m going to need to take you out drinking,” she said. “For research purposes.”

Asima was supposed to drive up to her parents place in Ithaca tonight with her little brother. But as the others started chiming in on a bar crawl, suddenly she really wanted to go, and for once have some kind of social life.

As people started to drift out, she flagged him over to her group. "I'd love to tag along, but AB and I were supposed to drive up to Ithaca so he didn't have to sleep on my couch."

"He can sleep in my guest room," Rei said immediately. "I'll even put the good sheets on."

Which was exactly what she'd been hoping would happen. "Wanna come bar hopping?" she asked her brother.

“Oh, why the hell not. I’m on vacation.”

"Ooo, I'm telling Mom you said hell.”

“Mom won’t care if I tattoo fuck across my forehead once she gets wind of whatever is going down with Neil.”

"You noticed that, too?"

"Everyone noticed it," Annie said as they headed outside. "Neil doesn't generally let other people touch him that much.”

“Good for them,” Rei said. “Everybody deserves to be happy.”

When agreeing to this, Asima had sort of pictured a handful of them at some dive bar, but they ended up with more than a dozen people at a very swanky club, drinking profoundly expensive booze. Because George Stark-Potts’s two favorite things in the world seemed to be spending money and drinking, and Bottle Service hit both buttons.

It was, at least, really _good_ booze.

"At least when I get my one night of socializing a decade it's a high quality one," she commented to Roger on her second - or possibly third - glass.

“I’ll drink to that.” He clinked his glass against hers. “This is nostalgic. If my youth had a theme, Drinking George’s Fancy Liquor might be a decent title.” They had been thick as thieves, growing up. There was a pack of boys all around the same age and they’d all been wild together, corralled only by the bounds of Joey Rogers’s conscience.

"George is a fan of his liquor." She might not remember which glass she was on, but she was pretty sure George couldn't tell you which bottle he was on. She was going to worry about that in the morning.

“I’m going to turn into my mother,” Roger said. “You watch. The exasperated doctor trying to keep a Stark with a poor sense of self preservation alive.”

She giggled. "I suppose that means I'll have to follow in my dad's shoes and help you out. With equal exasperation.”

“You got yourself a deal, Banner.”

"In return, if Ruby suddenly develops any self destructive habits you have to pitch in with me.”

He laughed. “There will be bacon in the trees first.”

She lifted her glass to him. "Amen to that.”

A new bottle came around, and he refilled both their glasses. “Come on, how awesome is my sister’s restaurant? I’m so proud of her.”

The words practically dripped with pride and she couldn't help but smiled. "It's awesome. I know how hard she worked to get it up and running. She's going to be New York's next big thing."

“She thinks I got all the juice,” he said. “Which is absolute bullshit. She makes things. Takes ordinary stuff and turns it into magic. Like Mom works to make the human body better. I just want to efficiently restore people to their factory settings.”

Asima wondered if they were about to hit the melancholy portion of the drunkenness. "There's honor in that, though. Keep people chugging along who might not otherwise."

“Oh, definitely. Some people might call it heroic. But it’s not hard.” Only this guy would describe heart surgery as ‘not hard’.

"It's not a competition," she reminded him.

He laughed. “Yes it is. All doctors are competitive.”

She tilted her head thoughtfully. "That must be why they all try to demote me to nurse."

“Also bullshit.” He looked over at her. “What you do _is_ hard.”

Asima had specialized in pediatric oncology, probably one of the most emotionally draining medical specialties. It was the sort of thing you only did if you felt you had a calling for it. But once she'd decided she'd never regretted it. "But often very rewarding."

“I scrubbed in to a surgery of this really old guy, and it was exceptionally long and draining. Dr. Lee sent me out to tell the family he’d made it, and there had to be thirty people in the waiting room. They actually literally picked me up, like a Jewish wedding. And I thought, yeah, that’s why I do this.”

"And your mother is very proud of you." She sipped her drink. "I think her and Dad sit around on their porches and talk about how proud they are of their kids the doctors."

“Your Dad technically has three Doctors. Though only you are a real doctor.”

"Ada disapproves of the term 'real doctor.'"

“She’s a superhero, she can suck it.”

She laughed. Roger was nothing if not good company. "Is Edie jealous of you?"

“I don’t know, is she? You know her pretty well.”

That was a good point. "She's not exactly easy to read, but I think she's mostly proud of you."

He nodded. “Any of your siblings jealous of you?”

"Not that I know of. Our parents didn't raise us to be competitive. We all had our own strengths and weaknesses and comparing them didn't do anyone any good.”

“Your parents are pretty chill,” he said. “I love mine. But they’re. . .not.”

"No. No one has ever described either of your parents as anything resembling chill.”

“Uncle Steve swears Dad had it in the ’30’s.”

"A lot of shit happened since then." She finished her drink and waved him off when he tried to refill it. "Steve says you're what he'd have been without Hydra.”

“Yeah. Of course, without all that, I wouldn’t be here. And, I think, neither would you.”

"Nor would most of us." She made a face. "Which is kind of awful to think about.”

“Dad always said we made it worth it. The minute he held Edie for the first time, everything made sense.” He smiled at her. “I hope I feel that way about my kids. Not that I have much past to get over. But I like the sentiment.”

"Me too. My dad said when he held me he knew I was his. That I'd have come home with him even if had hadn't had mom. Though she admittedly made the transition easier.”

“The rest of the village would have helped raise you.”

"I could had have Pepper Potts’s spare milk. There's gotta be a tabloid willing to report on that.”

Roger laughed. “God, our childhood was so weird.”

"I'm thinking of having cards made up that say that. Maybe a tattoo.”

“You’d do a brisk business in distributing the cards.”

"Might make dating easier.”

He waved a hand. “Women I date don’t need that much information about me.”

She shook her head at him. "Of course not.”

Joey Rogers plopped down on the other side of Asima. “Hey, guys. We’re going to try and move the party to the lounge at our hotel while George is still mostly upright.”

“You need help herding him?” Roger asked.

“Nah, AJ and I have it.”

Asima glanced at her phone to check the time. "I should probably bow out. I have to drive up north tomorrow. Dad will never let me hear the end of it if I'm hung over.”

“Me too,” Roger said. “I have a shift at the hospital tomorrow. Which or may not be more fun than Ithaca.”

"You want to share a cab or something?”

“Brilliant idea.” He reached over and clapped Joey on the shoulder. “Have fun wrangling the village drunk.”

"I'll send you any reports of vomit and/or hilarity.”

“Good luck!”

Joey waved and Asima and Roger did a round of goodbyes and promises to get in touch on their way out the door. It was possibly the drunkest she had been since college, which wasn't saying much. Still, it had been nice to unwind with people she liked and trusted.

“I can’t keep up with those guys anymore,” Roger said.

"I never could." She looked up at him. "George is a little out of control.”

“He’s always been like that.” He stepped to the curb to hail a cab.

"Yeah, but he's not twenty-two anymore." A car pulled up and he opened the door for her to hop in first.

“I’ll give you that.” He looked over at her. “None of us are.”

She was a little surprised at the way he was looking at her. And at the shiver of heat it sent up her spine. "No," she said quietly. "We aren’t."

He gave the driver both addresses—why he knew hers, Asima had no idea. Then he sat back in his seat, and he kept looking at her. She fiddled with the hem of her blouse, trying to ignore how warm and close the cab felt.

“It was nice hanging out with you tonight,” he said quietly.

"It was." She met his gaze. "You're good company.”

That made him smile. “Well. Sometimes.”

"Sometimes," she agreed. Untangling her fingers from her shirt, she slid it across the seat and touched his hand. He turned it over, tangling his fingers with hers. His hand was very warm and soft. She ran her thumb along the side of his hand.

When he gave her a little tug it seemed very natural to scoot closer to him. It was very dark and private in the back of that car. Almost in their own little world. It should have been absolutely crazy, but it seemed the most natural thing when he leaned in and kissed her.

He tasted of the very expensive liquor they'd been drinking. And he was a very, _very_ good kisser. His tongue slid along hers when she opened up to him. Her toes curled in her boring black shoes and she lifted her other hand to sink her fingers into his hair. The cab came to a stop, and he broke the kiss just enough to murmur, “You wanna come up?”

Oh this was such a terrible idea. Roger was nice and all. But his reputation was well earned and she was far too sensible to wind up a notch on his bed post.

But then he trailed his fingers along her jaw and she shivered and said, “Yes."

He grinned, and paid the cabbie, before opening the door to help her out. She took his hand to steady herself as she got out. He wove their fingers together again and she held onto him as they walked into his building. In the elevator, he pulled her close and kissed her again. Even if she was a bedpost notch, she’d enjoy the hell out of it. This man knew what he was doing.

When the elevator doors opened he backed her up out of the lift, almost dancing with her. They stopped at his door and only then did he release her to open it. He unlocked it, and let go of her only to hold his hand out to her to beckon her in. Like he was confirming if she was sure. 

She appreciated it. That check in. The chance to walk away with no hard feelings. She licked her lips, remembered his kiss, and took his hand. He grinned widely, and gave it a tug. When she was close enough, he framed her face in his hands and kissed her again—and kicked the door closed.

He backed her up against said closed door, deepening the kiss. She moaned into his mouth, shrugging out of her coat and levying it hit the floor. He tossed his, and they started in on each other’s clothes.

His shirt was easy, there were buttons she could undo and slide her hands beneath. He had on an undershirt, which she rucked up his chest in the search for bare skin. He lifted his arms so she could pull it over his head. He gave her a moment to spread her hands on his chest, before making her let go so he could pull her shirt off, too.

She'd skipped a bra since she'd gone straight from the shower to the restaurant. The groan he gave when he saw her topless was extremely gratifying. As was the almost reverent way he cupped his hands over her breasts.

“You are really gorgeous,” he murmured.

Without thinking she looked him and asked, "Seriously?" She winced. She didn't think she had particularly bad self esteem. But this was a guy who could date super models if he wanted and she was lucky if she remembered to wash her hair regularly.

He laughed. “Yes, seriously.” 

"Sorry. I wasn't fishing. I just usually top out at ‘cute.'"

“Well, I find you better than cute,” he replied, and kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing off the door to press against him. His hands slid down her back and cupped her rear. She hummed in pleasure, rocking her hips into him. He made a growling noise, and fumbled with the clasp and zipper on her pants.

They puddled on the floor and she stepped out of them, one leg getting caught on her shoe. She used the toes of her other foot to push the shoe off and lost her balance. Roger caught her and they stumbled a few steps further into the apartment. He laughed, and scooped her up in his arms like they were in a romance novel. 

Asima shook off the embarrassment at being unable to traverse a living room and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him as he carried her deeper into his place. He set her down on a bed with sheets so nice she suspected his mother had purchased them. She tried not to think about that as he shrugged fully out of his shirt and joined her, crawling towards her on the bed with almost feral intensity before catching her in another kiss. He dragged her underwear off—and the one shoe she still had on—so she was completely naked. “Much better.”

It was a little intimidating to be naked with a guy who was still fully dressed from the waist down. Before se could feel weird about that he bent his head and kissed her neck, nibbling a spot that made her gasp and shiver. He kissed her skin reverently, taking his time and slowly working his way down her. She tangled her hands in his hair, breath quickening. She had a lot of sensitive spots and he managed to find every. Single. One. Leaving her all but panting. “That’s my girl,” he murmured, and she felt as much as heard it.

She wanted to muster up something sassy about how she wasn't his girl. But if he kept kissing and nibbling he could call her whatever he liked. His hands tugged her thighs lightly and she eagerly opened for him, arching when he kissed her hip. When he stroked his fingers over her sex, she nearly came out of her skin. She’d expected this to be crazy rushed drunk sex, not him going down on her like he had all the time in the universe.

Not that she was complaining, mind. This was the first time she'd had something down there that wasn't battery operated in a depressingly long time. And he was _very_ good at this. She closed her eyes when he slipped two slick fingers into her, rocking with the rhythm of his stroking. Little whimpers and moans were spilling out of her and she couldn't bring herself to notice or care, it all felt so good. He traced patterns with his tongue, and her sounds weren’t little anymore.

Unable to reach his hair any longer, she gripped fistfuls of sheets and arched, crying out as an orgasm swept through her. His fingers and tongue kept moving as she rode it out, making her buck and rock with fresh waves of pleasure. 

He crawled back up her, having lost the rest of his clothes. She watched him in a blissful haze, and he grinned at her. “Hi.”

"Mmm. Hi there." She reached for him and he obligingly leaned down for a kiss. She could taste herself on his tongue and felt another little shiver of pleasure at the explicitness. "Do you have condoms?”

“Already on,” he replied. 

"How efficient of you." Only she could make that sound affectionate. She wrapped a leg around his him and he shifted them onto their sides. He tugged her leg further and she distracted herself kissing him again until she felt the broad head of his erection slip between her folds and press into her. Then she had to break the kiss and moan, arching into him as he sank into her.

He squeezed her ass. “God, you feel good.”

She let out a breathless little laugh. "Same to you.”

They moved slowly, sliding and grinding against each other. It was slow and intense. Not anything like she’d expected, either. Their hands roamed and they kissed each other, slow and deep. It stirred all her senses, the feel of him, the taste of him. Even the murmured words of praise he said against her skin.

He stroked somewhere deep that sent a shudder through her and immediately gripped her hips, repeating the stroke again and again. It was blindingly good and she dug her nails into his back, gasping his name as her whole being focused in on that spot, then shattered into a thousand pieces. He moved a few more times, rough and jerky, as she came around him. She could feel him shudder as he followed her.

They lay with their foreheads touching, breathing har as their bodies calmed. He grew soft and slipped from her, rolling away to deal with the condom.

Asima kept waiting for reality to reassert itself, but it never did, not even when Roger rolled back over and wrapped an arm around her to tuck her against his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

Roger woke up with a hangover, and company in his bed. There was a phone ringing, but it wasn’t his.

Asima grumbled in what sounded like Russian and rolled away from him, rummaging on the floor for her pants. "What?" she snapped into her phone.

There was a pause while she thumped her head on the end of the bed, "I know, I have a hangover, I slept in." Pause. "Because George was buying and I am weak. I know, I know." She scrubbed a hand over her face. "You two go up and I'll come on my own. Neil's not going to want to wait the hour minimum I need to get ready." Pause. "Oh." She made a face. "Do _you_ want to wait the hour minimum it'll take me to get ready?" Another face. "Then I'll see you when I get there. Tell them I went drinking with the boys and have regrets, they'll understand." She waved a hand at Roger and mouthed 'not you' while whoever was on the other end talked. "I will call when I'm on my way. Okay. Kay. Bye." She tapped a button on the phone and dropped it back to the floor.

“Hiding from your siblings?” Roger asked.

"We were supposed to drive to to see Mom and Dad this morning.”

He put his pillow over his face. “If you’re going up to Ithaca don’t go anywhere near Aunt Wanda.”

"Oh, I know." He felt the bed shift and peeked out to see her sitting up, running her fingers through her hair and picking out knots. "I assume we'll be keeping this between us?”

“That’s probably wise.” He lowered the pillow. “This doesn’t count as incest, does it?”

She made a face at him. "Not legally, no. And we didn't really grow up together.”

“Good,” he said, reaching out to touch her leg.

Idly, she reached down and stroked her fingers along the back of his hand. "You want to try to find something to help our hangovers?”

He grinned. “I can think of all _sorts_ of things that help with hangovers.”

Her cheeks darkened and he sort of expected her to stammer and demure. No one had the excuse of alcohol anymore and Asima had always been a little shy and nervous and too practical for her own good.

So he was a little surprised when she leaned over and kissed him. "Are you offering to ravish me again?”

He pulled her on top of him, sifting his fingers into her hair. They wouldn’t be able blame it on anything else now, but he didn’t care. “As many times as you want.”

She hummed a little in pleasure. "I have to go in an hour.”

“Honey, that is plenty of time.”

After sinking into the kiss a moment, she lifted her head. "You were born in Wakanda. Are you enhanced?”

“My mother insists we all are.”

She grinned. "Well, that has all kinds of potential." Then she kissed him again and he forgot what they were talking about.

A some point they had the brilliant idea to kill two birds with one stone, and take a shower together. They got water everywhere, but did end up clean. And she ended up getting out the door very late.

He had a shift at the hospital in the evening but had time to get some food and maybe nap before hand. Of course, on his way back from grabbing take out his phone rang with his mother's number. He had a moment of utter panic wondering is she somehow _knew_.

She wasn’t a gossip. She wouldn’t mention it if she did. “Hi, Mom.”

"Hey, sweetie. How was the dinner?”

Of course. She was calling to check up on Edie’s restaurant opening. He really needed to get his head out of his own ass. “Delicious. The restaurant was great.”

"Oh good. I didn't want to bother Edie until I'd heard from you. Did a lot of cousins show up?”

“Everyone came. Literally. George brought everyone in from the West coast—even Neil.”

The was a pause, and he could hear his mom's smile when she said, "You're a good bunch of kids.”

“We support each other. We’re family.” That made him wince. You probably shouldn’t refer to a group containing someone you slept with as family. Though, he and Asima were absolutely not the first people to cross pollinate. Aside from the very apparent case of Frances and Neil, he knew of at least two others.

"It's good," his mom said and he once again had to remind himself she couldn't read his mind. "Are you working tonight?”

“Yes. And for the next 8 days.”

"Ah, I remember those days. Regretting your career choices yet?”

“No, but ask me next week.” He knew she loved that he was a doctor. She just enjoyed teasing him.

"Will do. I'll let you go so I can call Edie. Take care of yourself.”

“Love you, Mom,” he said before he hung up.

He managed to get his nap in without further interruption. On a break at work he checked his messages to see something from Asima. _Adults none the wiser as to our indiscretions._

Roger smiled and texted back, _Were we right about your brother?_

_And Franny? Yep. They are, apparently, A Thing._

_Good for them._

_Yeah, he seems happy. I think they're good for each other._ There was a pause and he finished making his coffee, checking his watch to make sure he had time to drink it. _I am now two floors above you_ , she informed him.

_You’re working tonight?_

_My penance for last night off._

He stared at his phone for a long time, contemplating his reply before he had to go back to his rounds. _Next time we have a few hours off in common, we should get some food or something._

She didn't answer immediately and he had to wait for his next breather to see the response of, _Or something, huh?_ Then, about half an hour later. _Yeah, I'd be up for that._

And that was how it started. Neither of them had much free time, and most of that was devoted to sleeping. But if they could find an hour, they found each other. Sometimes it was little more than a high school style make out session that ending in an orgasm. Once in a great while they had a whole evening or morning and could take their time.

He didn't mention it to any of the boys when he saw them for drinks. As best he could tell, Asima didn't mention it either. She hung out with his sister and Ruby quite a bit, so he assumed if she did tell them he'd hear about it. He wasn't ashamed by any means. But their family was big and nosy and up in each others business. It was just a casual fling, a way to destress during a very busy time in their lives. There was no reason to make A Thing out of it. Even as it ticked towards a year, and became, technically, the longest relationship he’d ever had.

And if occasionally they did something a little outside the bounds of fling, like bring the other coffee after a long day or soup when they were sick, well, that was just because they understood what the other was dealing with.

“My brother is getting married,” she said to him one night over Chinese food. Sometimes they really did need to get food.

He bit off half a potsticker. “I assume you mean Neil?”

"Yes. To Franny. In California.”

“You’d need at least two days off for that. Ouch.”

"Yeah, it's going to suck. But I'm near the end of my fellowship so they're chilling out a bit on my hours.”

“Figured out what you’re doing next?”

She hesitated a moment, poking the lone pot sticker left in the box. "I have.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I’m all ears.”

"I'm going to India for a year to provide care and train local oncologists in remote areas.”

Roger grinned. “I never know if I should be pleased or horrified when you remind me of my mother.”

"Probably horrified, but there's a reason I didn't specialize in psych.”

“It’s your Dad’s kind of thing, too. Let’s go with that.” He nudged her. “Seriously, I think that’s great.” 

He was going to miss her more than he wanted to admit out loud. 

"Thanks." She looked vaguely embarrassed, but she leaned on him briefly. "You gonna be okay without me watching your back?”

“I’ll just take more on-call shifts, I guess.”

She gave him an odd look he couldn't quite read. Then she leaned over and kissed him gently. "I'll miss you.”

He sighed, and kissed her back, with more heat, and emotion he didn’t want to talk about. “I’ll miss you.”

She moved the food containers aside and slipped into his lap, legs straddling his hips. "Well. I'm not leaving tonight.”

“Good,” he murmured, hands under her shirt.

Her brother's wedding ended up being planned between the end of her fellowship and the beginning of her India trip. Roger spent a few precious days off helping her pack up her apartment and let her crash at him for the week between the end of her lease and her trip to California. She'd be going from there to India.

He still had to work, so they didn't spend a lot of time together. He was amused to find his apartment slowly grew cleaner as the week went on. She was, at times, her mother's daughter.

He took her to the airport, the rest of her family having flown out a few days before. He found himself grateful for the small moments like that lately.

At the security point they had to say goodbye. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him thoroughly. "Take care of yourself.”

“ _Me_? You’re the one flying off into danger.”

She made a face. "It's not a war zone. I'm not actually your mother. You're the one who forgets to eat vegetables for a week at a time.”

“You’ll have better tasting vegetables in India.”

"I think I'm going to eat just naan and raita for the next year." Asima, to everyone's amusement, was not a fan of Indian food.

“Good luck,” he said, talking about more than just the food. “And kick ass.”

She smiled and touched his cheek. "Thanks. I'll . . . I'll be in touch.”

“Good,” he said, and kissed her one more time.

She seemed very reluctant to let him go, but that might have just been his not-so-objective interpretation. But eventually she hefted her carry on up her shoulder and headed into security.

*

Asima would be the first to admit that she had never really tried to picture what it would look like when Neil got married. Partially because she'd been skeptical he'd find someone he liked enough to stick with permanently. And mostly because she'd figured whoever he married would make the decisions and he'd grit his teeth and get through it.

Frances Bennet, however, was not an overbearing bride willing to make her groom suffer for her dream. Everything was very quiet and low-key. The only guests were the Banners, the Bennetts, the Stark-Pottses, and a small handful of Neil and Franny's coworkers. Neil was wearing an expensive but not overly tailored suit - he didn't like being touched to the degree a tailoring would require. It was held at his gorgeous house in the Los Altos hills. And Annie Bennett - who had apparently ordained online as a joke some years back - did the ceremony.

It was catered by a place that did fancy barbecue, to be eaten in a collection of scattered comfortable seating arrangements, served at a precise time—which Asima thought nothing of, because she was used to Neil. Her brother had given his bride a large apron, like something from a Pilgrim costume, that covered much of her dress, before the meal was served. Clearly there was some sort of in-joke there, Franny nearly doubled over laughing when she saw it, and then happily put it on.

The food was delicious, though. Her brother knew his meat. And, apparently, his wife, because there was sauce all over that apron inside five minutes. 

“Never saw it coming,” Ruby said to her. “But clearly it works.”

Asima nodded, sipping her red wine which Neil had informed her hand been grown less than two hours away. "It does. They are an interesting balance. They fit together.”

“And the party is nice. Not at all a circus.”

"Yeah, this is a good amount of people. I"m glad he invited you guys, he's always been fond of Uncle Tony.”

“I was a little worried about George being trouble—Junior couldn’t make it and none of the other boys who wrangle him at family events were invited.” It said something that Ruby was worried about that at a day wedding where that only had wine and beer. Not that Asima blamed her. After the dinner at Edie’s restaurant, Asima had told Ruby she thought his drinking was so bad that her professional medical opinion was that Ruby ought to have a rehab ready to go for the inevitable need.

Asima sat up a little because this was something she'd wanted to talk about before she forgot. "I walked past him earlier and did a double take. He was holding a root beer.”

Ruby turned, squinting to find her brother in the crowd. “I assumed it was a regular beer.” 

She shook her head. "I recognized the brand. I - a guy I know at work drinks them all the time." Said guy was Roger and she couldn't count the times she'd seen them in his fridge - or when she'd started stocking them in hers.

“Huh.” She paused. “He does actually look sober. And it’s kind of unfathomable he wouldn’t get into all this fancy wine, he’s got a big cellar under his house.”

"Right? I expected him to lecture me about the taste of the wine like four times by the end of the day.”

Ruby watched him a moment longer. “I hope it sticks,” she said. “He was starting to get worrisome. I’m going to hold the bed until I’m sure.”

"Good idea." She sipped her wine. "We all grow up, I suppose.”

“Some of us go off and save the world,” Ruby replied, bumping Asima’s shoulder.

"That's a little grandiose.”

“Saving a small corner?”

She smiled. "Seems sufficient to me."

“Good luck, be safe, and call me if you need an airlift.”

"I will keep that in mind."

In the morning, she started the first leg of her 24 hour journey. Plane changes, layovers, to the point where she wasn’t sure what day it was when she arrived. She did not regret pulling some money from her trust fund—all the Banner children had one from Uncle Tony—to buy a very expensive first class seat. She slightly regretting turning down Ruby’s offer of her family’s jet.

The highlight of her arrival was the startled program director telling her she sounded so American during the phone interviews he just assumed she was white.

"I was adopted as an infant," she told him, wondering how many times she'd need to say that in the next year.

He shrugged. “Its not a bad thing. A more familiar looking face may help the children feel comfortable.”

"I hope so. I know a bit of the dialect, I'm hoping to pick up the rest quickly."

“Well. Let’s get started, shall we?”

She was allowed a night to sleep in the city, before heading out the next day, traveling first by train, then car, to the rural clinic she'd be working at for the first few months. It was all a culture shock, as her father had warned her. But the people were friendly and happy to see her and answer her occasionally ignorant questions.

After another night to rest, she met her first patients, kids from preschool to middle school age, all with some form of cancer diagnosis. She caught up on their files, ran the tests she felt were missing and tried to settle in a rhythm.

On an impulse, she sent Roger an email telling him she’d survived her journey. He replied back telling her that was the best news of his 36 hour day. She sympathized, since she'd been there not too long ago.

It became a habit, emailing him. Dropping a line or two about what was going on or what gossip she'd heard. She told him about George Stark not drinking at the wedding and Franny's giant apron and this and that. She told him about her patients and coworkers and the day she found a spicy Indian dish she actually liked and the old Auntie who made the best naan in the province.

He told her mostly hospital anecdotes, because he was still in his residency, and all he did was work. Surgical sub-specialties trained a very long time. He had another 4 years yet.

He wasn't the only one she kept in touch with, of course. She video chatted with her parents and Ruby, emailed Edie and her siblings. Sometimes it was daily, sometime she realized it had been over a week and she should probably send out some reassurances. She was homesick, and there was a learning curve so sharp she was amazed she didn't fly right off the rails. But not once did she regret coming out.


	3. Chapter 3

The year went by way too quickly. Asima ended up staying a couple extra months, to see a couple of her patients through the end of their treatments. Then it was time to say her goodbyes and head back to the states to start the next stage of her life.

She loved New York City, and decided that was where she wanted to find a job, even if it took a little time. Plus, a small break wouldn’t kill her. She took a page from Neil’s playbook and cashed out a chunk of her trust fund to buy an apartment outright. Ruby furnished the entire thing as a ‘housewarming gift’.

"You are ridiculous," Asima informed her, lounging on her brand new sofa. "And becoming more your father all the time.”

“Absolutely not,” Ruby replied. “Dad would give you a check and tell you to do your own shopping. My mother would call an interior designer and have a turn-key home ready for you when you arrived.”

"Fine, you continue to be a delightful blend of the two.”

“That is a compliment I will take.”

Asima smiled and fluffed the brightly colored decorative pillow under her head. "It's good to be home.”

“It’s good to have you back. We missed you.”

"Any good gossip I'm not caught up on?”

“Well, my brother seems to still be sober. Agata is getting married. Esther is having yet another baby. And Joey is running for congress.”

"That last one is a long time coming." Joey had been talking about running for office since they were kids.

“He’s done some local stuff, but this is the first big one.” She cleared her throat. “His campaign is well funded.” 

"Ruby." She shook her head. "I suppose having a congressman in your pocket is a good investment.”

“I don’t worry about investments. I just want to put good in the world.”

"Joey will certainly work for good," Asima agreed.

Her phone chimed, and when she looked it was a text from a very familiar number. _I hear you’re stateside. Wanna get coffee?_

She carefully schooled her expression and tucked the phone away. "My family has begun to clamor for quality time.”

“I don’t doubt it. I’ll wrangle Edie and set us up some girl time.” Ruby rose gracefully. “I’ll see you soon.”

"Yes, keep me in the loop. I'll be busy, but not like it was before.”

“I promise.” Ruby hugged her, and then headed out.

Asima waited for the door to close behind her before pulling her phone back out. _Actual coffee? Or code coffee?_

_Seems rude to booty call someone you haven’t seen in a year_

She smiled. _Coffee would be great._ She really had missed him a lot, more than she'd expected to. It would be nice to see him. _What's your schedule?_

_During daylight hours? I have 45 min on Thursday afternoon._

_Hospital caf coffee it is._

_3:30?_

_See you there._

Asima spent Wednesday evening letting Edie stuff her with delicious American food, and Thursday went to meet Roger.

She went right to the cafeteria, feeling oddly nostalgic, and got a coffee and cookie to wait for him. He appeared a few minutes later, looking worn out and tired. But the grin he gave her was one hundred percent Barnes charm.  
Asima stood to hug him when he reached her. "Hey stranger.”

He wrapped his arms around her. Somehow, he still smelled the same. “Hi.”

Unable to resist, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I missed you.”

“I missed you, too. I’m so sorry I’m late. It’s just. . . crazy right now.”

"I know, believe me. I remember." She held his shoulders and looked him the eye. "This too shall pass.”

“Nine hundred and fifteen days. Not that I’m counting.”

"Nah, of course not. You still have time to chat a couple minutes?”

“For you I made time,” he said, gesturing for her to sit.

She took her seat and waited while he grabbed a cup of coffee. "I've got a bunch of resumes out," she told him when he got back. "Hoping the offers start rolling in soon.”

“I’m sure they will. If you need Mom to make some calls, let me know.” Edie had already offered the exact same thing.

"I think I can do it without calling in the big guns. Besides, she already gave me a glowing reference letter.”

“Good. A touch of nepotism isn’t the worst thing.”

"It's what our family runs on." She studied him a moment. "How are you doing? Not burning out or anything are you?”

“I’m pushing through,” he said. “I love the work. I don’t think I truly understood how much of the field was full of assholes, though. I mean, people warn you but. . .” He shook his head. “People assume a lot of things about me by looking at me.”

"You do sort of look like an asshole," she said gently.

“And so they think I agree with and want to hear their asshole opinions. Believe it or not, I do not want to discuss the abject tragedy of ruining a 19 year old girl’s tits during heart surgery.”

Asima shook her head. "Try being a woman. It wasn't as bad in India - there weren't a lot of egos there - but I remember in my residency having to deal with being called honey a lot. And assumptions I was a nurse came pretty much weekly.”

“Maybe when I’m done I’ll go volunteer with MSF or something. Balance the scales.”

"Your mother will be delighted.”

He sipped his coffee. “It’s really good to see you.”

"You, too. Really. It's nice to be back among my tribe.”

“You crashing with someone or. . .?”

She smiled. "Actually, I bought a condo. Ruby and I spent the weekend furnishing it.”

He chuckled. “On Ruby’s dime?”

"It was her house warming gift.”

“How very her.”

"That's what I told her, but she insisted." She waved a hand. "I appreciate the expensive mattress and matching living room seating.”

“I’m sure it’s much nicer than my place.”

"Probably." She hesitated a moment. "I'm not sure how to say this, or if you were thinking of it but. . . I don't think it's a good idea to. . . pick up where we were.”

She could see the disappointment on his face, but he covered it pretty fast. He did, however, cover it with the practiced glib charm she knew was kind of a facade. “Oh, of course. It’s been a year, things change.”

"No," she said. "I'd totally like to sleep with you again. But I'm probably going to be spending a lot of time with Edie and Ruby and that's. . . a lot of lying.”

He looked down. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

She felt a distinct twinge at his clear disappointment. "If we were dating, it would be different," she said gently. "But I know you don't have time for that. And won't for a least nine hundred and sixteen days. When we were both swamped it was a mutually beneficial thing. But now. . . I don't want to resent you for not having time for me. And I can't ask you for more than you can give.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “No, that’s fair. Especially. . . I mean, this can’t go sideways. We have to look at each other at Christmas.”

"Exactly." She spread her hands. "I mean, I'm happy to do this, and you can always call me and bitch about the assholes.”

“Now that I would like.”

"I promise to be imminently sympathetic.”

Roger smiled. “I really did miss you.”

She felt her cheeks heat a little, but smiled back. "Me too.”

“I should get back to work,” he said after a moment.

"Of course." She cleared her throat. "Take care of yourself.”

Roger stood up. “You too. Good to see you.”

It felt oddly final and that made her sad in a way she couldn't really articulate. There really was no other way around this. But she had the distinct feeling it was already going to be awkward seeing him at Christmas.

Still, she stood and stole another hug. "Bye, Roger.”

He hugged her tighter than expected, and pressed his face in her hair. He took in a deep breath and let out a sigh. “Bye, Asima.” They held each other a few beats too long. Then he stepped back, gave her a little smile, and walked away.

*

It wasn’t an easy thing in the middle of a residency—even a very long one like Roger’s—to get a full weekend off. But his big sister was getting married, so he made it happen. He’d even been asked to be a groomsman.

It was at a fancy resort out in the Hamptons. He imagined it must cost a fortune, but none of them would ever know, because Ruby handled it. Edie was busy running a restaurant, and Ruby liked to plan things. He didn’t doubt she’d done it to perfection. She’d sent a tailor to the hospital to fit Roger for his suit when he’d said he couldn’t find the time. 

He worked a shift Friday morning and went right from the OR to the locker room showers to an electric Stark car provided by the Tower. He dozed a bit on the way up to the Hamptons and arrived just in time for the rehearsal.

The people at the front desk were friendly and efficient, sending his bag up to his room so he could hustle right out to the East Deck for the ceremony rehearsal.

Weddings never seemed that complicated to him that they needed rehearsing. All he had to do was stand. And, at the moment, try not to stare at Asima in a sundress.

There was a lot of laughing and in jokes. Annie Bennet was performing the ceremony - she was becoming the officiant of choice for the non-religious kids - and once she got rolling it was like attending a stand up show. Finally, the event coordinator gave up and shooed them all into the hotel restaurant for dinner.

He did note that he'd never seen Edie look so happy. She was damn near glowing, and she was not, typically, a glowy kind of woman.

His future brother-in-law was a good guy, and Roger liked him. But he clearly did not know what to do with the opulence of his own wedding. Their clan could take some getting use to. And _everyone_ was here.

The seating at the rehearsal dinner was a free-for-all. Tired, he grabbed a drink from the bar and found a seat, hoping food would come before he actually passed out.

A few moments later Asima dropped into the seat next to him. "You made it.”

He grinned. “Of course I made it. She’s my only sister.”

"I've never seen her so happy.”

“They do seem very compatible.”

"He's good for her," Asima agreed. She looked at him over the rim of her glass. "How are you holding up?”

“Tired, I admit, but it’s not as bad as the early days.”

"Good. I was a little worried about you last time we saw each other.”

“I’m all right. I think you just came on a bad day.” He’d gotten a better grip on his feelings since then, anyway. “How are you doing?”

She smiled. "I'm doing really well. I'm working at a clinic in Brooklyn. It's been really great.”

“Still a tough job, I bet."

"It is," she conceded with a tilt of her head. "But the wins out weight the losses. I still love it.”

“Good. I still enjoy what I do, and I think all the training will be worth it in the end.”

"i'm glad to hear that. For what it's worth, I think you'll be awesome.”

He grinned. “I’m always awesome.”

She laughed. "Of course you are.”

Roger looked over at her, thinking how much he missed her. “Will you save a dance for me tomorrow?”

"As many as you like," she said softly.

He watched her a moment. “I’ll take you up on that.”

Someone called for her from another table and she smiled, glancing away. "Sorry. Bridesmaid duties call." She moved to stand, touching his arm lightly. "I'll talk to you later.”

He waved. “Have fun.”

She gave him a wink and darted off. Roger watched her go, and then got up to find the groom.

He had no idea how long the rehearsal festivities lasted. He ate his admittedly very good pasta and headed up to sleep. He was awakened the next morning by a hotel wake-up call he definitely hadn't requested, but gave him plenty of time to get ready and go down to meet the rest of the groomsmen.

They had most of a day to kill, having been told not to be underfoot during the bridal preparations happening at the hotel spa. It was a beach town. There were probably plenty of things to do.

"We are not going to see if there are bars open," Owen told the collection of old coots from the barber shop that seemed to be his found family. "It's my wedding day.”

“I was drunk on my wedding day,” one of them replied.

"That was a different time," another said. "And your wife was terrifying."

"His father in law is terrifying."

Owen rubbed a hand over his face. "So many regrets.”

Roger scrambled for things old people found entertaining. “Anybody like golf?”

The old guys swiveled to look at him. "Keep talking, son.”

“I’m a doctor, I’m contractually required to know where all the local courses are.” Or just make note of the one he’d seen driving in.

"That sounds like a great idea," Own said, throwing him an immensely grateful look. "Let's go.”

It cost Roger a terrifying amount of money to get all of them into this fancy country club and rent gear, but they had a lovely, fun, completely sober afternoon.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late. . . I forgot to post it on Friday.

They got back to the hotel in the late afternoon and Roger made sure Owen made it back to his room without getting waylaid before heading to his for a shower. His suit was pressed and waiting and he presented himself downstairs exactly on time.

The ceremony was on a wide deck overlooking the ocean. It had an airy tent shading the sun, which was covered in flowers. He was impressed someone had managed to make a wedding ceremony seem. . .relaxing.

Edie and Owen exchanged their vows, both smiling and crying at the same time. Annie pronounced them husband and wife and everyone cheered while they kissed. Owen dipped her, to the laughter and applause of the crowd.

Roger found himself looking at Asima across the aisle. She was watching the happy couple, a fond smile on her face. When she noticed his regard she met his eyes, cheeks darkening a little. He should probably look away, but found himself noticing, not for the first time, how nice she looked in her red bridesmaid dress.

He had, if he was honest, always thought she was gorgeous. Since they were teenagers. But now that he knew what she looked like under that dress—what she felt like and smelled like and tasted like—he found himself mesmerized.

They walked down the aisle in pairs, and he found himself walking next to Agata Maximoff, behind Asima and one of Owen's friends.

They took pictures for what felt like hours before Edie, Owen, and the photographer headed down to the beach for a few couple shots and the rest of them were released into the reception hall.

“You look beautiful,” he told Asima as they walked back.

She looked up at him. "Thank you. You look very dashing.”

“I took everyone golfing today. The old coots wanted to go drinking.”

"Owen clearly owes you one," Asima said, eyes twinkling with mirth.

“I am an excellent wingman. Wrangling the boys taught me that.”

"I always assumed Joey was the main wrangler.”

“Sometimes it takes one of the partiers to get cooperation.”

"I see." They'd reached the hall the party was happening in, lingering just outside the door. "Think you'll be partying tonight?”

“I think I’d rather hang out with you,” he said honestly.

He could see it surprise her, then her expression softened into something he couldn't put a name to. She reached out and hooked a finger over his. "I'm at your disposal.”

He felt a grin spread. “Really?”

"Yeah," she said softly. "I've been thinking about you. A lot.”

“Me too. You have no idea. Or maybe you do.”

"We should. . . people will be more distracted after dinner.”

He dipped his head in agreement, and opened the doors. “Later?”

She nodded. “Later."

The head table was set up just for Edie and Owen, and the bridal party scattered among the tables with their family and friends. Asima was on the other side of the dance floor at the table full of Banners. Roger was sitting with his parents, and aunts, uncle, and cousins from the Newbury side. He tried not to watch her too much during the meal, or during his father’s very sappy toast.

Dinner was fantastic, because of course it was. He didn't know if the place had been chosen for its food or if Edie had dragged some of her sous chefs up for the occasion, but it was very much the type of stuff she served. It was one wedding where no one could say they left hungry.

After the meal everyone got up to mingle and dance. The cousins were clumped up in various groups, while the parents had pushed a couple tables together to sit and reminisce. It was like any other big family gathering, only in formal wear.

Seemed a good time to redeem his dance.

Asima was with some of the other girls their age, feet up and sipping wine. She saw him coming and smiled, putting her glass down and bouncing to her feet to meet him.

“Wanna dance?” he asked, holding out his hand.

"Absolutely." She grabbed his hand and he pulled her out onto the floor. She tucked an arm around his shoulders and swayed with him. He had really missed holding her. But he didn’t know if it would be too much to say so.

Maybe casual conversation was best. “Mom said Dad went through eleven drafts of that toast.”

"I thought it was very sweet. Edie teared up a bit." She smiled. "I bet this is a day he never thought would come.”

“What, Edie getting married?”

"Not Edie specifically. But giving away his daughter." She shrugged. "I know from my dad that once your life has been thoroughly fucked up it's hard to imagine having certain normal moments. He still has to stop and check in to make sure it's all real. Being a dad and granddad. His happy, healthy kids.”

“I think both of my parents feel like that. I’m sure they’ll be flummoxed by grandchildren.”

"But thinking of the knitting your mom can do!”

“You know she made socks for all the Groomsmen? The barbershop quartet is beside themselves.”

Asima laughed. "She'll have to add them to the Christmas list.”

“Did I ever tell you she taught me how to knit?”

Her mouth opened. "No. Do you knit?”

“She thought it would be good for my fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. She swears it made her a better surgeon.”

"I always meant to have her teach me. I think it would be soothing.”

“It can be very meditative, if I’m honest.”

"Have you ever made anything?”

“Nothing recognizable as a useful item. I don’t like having to count stitches.”

She smiled warmly. "Maybe you could teach me sometime.”

He grinned widely. “I would love that.” He’d love doing just about anything with her.

Her gaze went to his mouth and her lids drooped a little, eyes dark. She took a breath to say something, then Annie Bennet called, "Asima! Come on, she's gonna throw the bouquet!"

He felt her sigh, then she smiled and waved, moving away from him. She caught his hand and pressed something smooth and flat into it. "Room 14, by the water.”

Roger stared after her as she left. _Holy Shit._

The whole crowd was distracted by the bouquet toss, so it seemed a good a time as any to sneak away. The resort sprawled out rather than up in an effort to maximize beach views and access. To find her room he had to go out on one of the decks and follow a boardwalk to a string of connected cottages by the water. Fourteen had a gorgeous view from its front deck.

He slid the key in the door and let himself inside. It looked a bit like a tornado had gone through, which amused him, given how tidy she usually was. It was a suite, with a separate bedroom and living room. Roger pondered the etiquette. Should he get a drink and sit on the couch? Strip naked and wait in bed?

He checked the fridge, grabbed himself a soda and went to the bedroom, which had a wall of windows looking out on the water.

About twenty minutes later the front door opened and he went out to the living room to find Asima toeing her shoes off, carrying the big bouquet of roses Edie had carried down the aisle.

He laughed. “You caught it?”

"Your sister threw it right at me," she said. "If I didn't know better I'd worry she knew where I was coming after.”

“Oh, if she knew, she’d never be able to keep that secret.”

"That's what I figured. She's just being a shit. Ruby and I were standing next to each other, it probably didn't matter to her which of us caught it.”

He crossed the room, taking the bouquet from her and getting into her personal space. “Did I tell you how gorgeous you looked today?”

She nodded, looking up at him. "Sometimes I feel like you're the only one who sees me.”

He put the bouquet on the dresser, and reached for her. “I can’t help the blindness of others.”

Stepping closer, she slid a hand up into his hair as he wrapped an arm around her. And then they were kissing, hot and intense. He clutched the fabric of her dress in his hands, and it honestly felt like the world was righting itself for the first time in years. He’d missed her so much. She made a soft sound in her throat, nails scraping against his scalp as she held him down to her.

His fingers found the zipper of her dress and he eased it down, just for the chance to feel her skin. He stroked her back, tracing his fingers up her spine. She wasn’t wearing any kind of bra, something he approved of. He got all the way to her shoulders and tugged down the dress’s straps.

With a little sound of approval, she released him and dropped her arms, letting the dress slide down. She had to wiggle a little to get it past her hip, then it hit the floor. He flattened his hands on her back as she started to undo his tie.

When he mumbled something about how soft she was, she chuckled on his mouth. "I hope so. It was a long day at the spa.”

He’d taken off his jacket, and left her to the tie so he could move his hands over her skin. He cupped one of her breasts and stroked his thumb across her nipple. It tightened and she sucked in a breath, shivering. "I missed you," she said softly, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt.

He shuddered. “I missed you. So much.”

Her fingers marched down his front before spreading the shirt open. Her hands were warm and soft against his chest. He shrugged off the shirt, and then yanked his undershirt over his head. He wanted to feel her skin against his.

She pounced on him and he caught her and things got a little fuzzy for a bit. He recalled pinning her to the wall as he kissed her, and the whimpering sounds she made as he stroked and shaped her breasts in his hands. They stumbled towards the bed, her hands jerking at his belt and fly. Before he could react, she pushed him to sit and knelt before him, taking his half hard erection in her mouth.

“Oh, God,” he breathed, sinking his hands into her hair. It felt so good he couldn’t manage much else.

She kneaded and massaged his thighs, taking him in long deep strokes until he was fully hard and then some. When he was near the edge he gave her hair a sharp tug and she lifted her head, looking up at him with dark eyes and a smug little smile. “Fuck. I forgot how good you are at that,” he said. “Please come up here.”

The smile turned into a grin, but she rocked back and wiggled her panties down before standing and joining him on the bed with a hot kiss. He pulled her to straddle his lap. He reached between them to feel how wet she was, and she soaked his hand. The moan she gave when he touched her was pretty hot, too. He wanted to be inside her more than anything, but he took a moment to stroke his fingers over her, just to make her make that sound again.

Sure enough, another moan spilled out of her and she shuddered. Legs squeezing his, she rocked against his hand, seeking more. He moved her, tilting her hips, until he could slide into her slick heat. She sank down slowly, an inch at a time, and it was torture, but he let her. He found her clit with his thumb, part encouragement and part revenge.

She whimpered, easing down to take him to the hilt. She rested her forehead on his, breathing hard and trembling a little. He could feel her pulsing a little around his length. He reached up to cup her cheek and kiss her. It got deep and messy, and in the middle she began to rock her hips. She’d lift a little and then back down, grinding against him. The kiss broke because they needed air, and she began to ride him harder.

One of his favorite things about making love with her was how utterly lost she got in it. She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, hair unraveling from its fancy updo. She was tight and slick around him, driving him with each thrust. He found her clit again and she cried out body clenching around him hard."Yes," she whispered. "Don't stop. Roger, fuck, don't stop.”

He shook his head, because he couldn’t form words. He kept up the motion even as he started to lose his grip on himself, because he could feel her trembling, feel how close she was. Her movements grew more frantic and her little sounds became desperate. Then she gasped out his name and drove herself roughly down, shaking hard as she came around him. He held her tight as he joined her, the rush of it making the room spin.

She slumped against him and he wrapped his arms around her, tipping back to lay down, utterly spent. Roger sighed and rubbed her back. “I really missed you. This.”

"Me, too," she said quietly.

“I am embarrassed, as a doctor, that I am asking this _now_ , but you are still on some kind of birth control, I assume?”

She giggled and rolled off of him. "I am, yes. Though I will also confess to really not thinking much during that.”

“You don’t have to worry about STIs,” he said. Because he had a reputation, so he felt compelled to say it. “There hasn’t been anyone since you.” 

She rolled on her side to look at him. “Really?"

Asima looked so surprised, he felt embarrassed, and looked at the ceiling. “Well, you know, I’ve been really busy.”

"Right." She shifted and kissed his cheek, his jaw, then settled her head on his shoulder. "We should. . . probably have an honest conversation about. . . this.”

Here he’d been hoping to have a little more time. “I know you said you didn’t want to start again. When you came back. And that’s. . .I absolutely understand. I still have a year and a half left.”

"I know. But I think maybe I didn't phrase it right. Or something. Because I suspect we've both been kind of miserable and we didn't have to be.”

He looked down at the top of her head. Being a coward never got anyone anywhere. “If we’re being honest? I think our original pretense that is was just sex was bullshit.”

"Agreed," she said easily. "It was just the only thing we had time for." She traced a little pattern on his chest. "I like you a lot. I'd like to be something. Tell our families, endure the teasing. But I know you don't have time. And it felt shitty to ask you to wait for me or add to your stress.”

“You didn’t have to ask. I waited anyway.” He stroked her hair. “Still waiting, really.”

She was quiet a moment. "So. . . are we dating now?”

“I don’t have a lot of free time, but I’d really like to.”

“Good. me too.”

“I was thinking we should wait until after the wedding to tell the families. I don’t want to upstage Edie.”

"That's probably a good idea. If she's safely on her honeymoon she won't punch either of us." She tipped her head up to look at him. "You're not scared to date the Hulk's daughter?”

“My mother says the Hulk only comes out these days to heal your father.”

"Mostly, yes." She smiled. "Maybe I should be nervous about dating Amanda Newbury-Barnes's only son.”

“My mother loves you,” he replied.

"She's still scary.”

“And for the record, I don’t think there will be teasing. Everyone was cool with Neil and Franny.”

"That is true." She nuzzled his shoulder. "Want to get under the covers?”

He kissed the top of her head. “That sounds like a great idea.”


	5. Chapter 5

Asima woke the next morning to the sound of the surf and cries of sea birds. Roger was sprawled next to her, one arm flung over her stomach, hand gripping her hip possessively. She squinted at the clock and relaxed. There was supposed to be a brunch at 11 to say goodbye to everyone before Edie and Owen went for their honeymoon. They still had a couple hours before anyone would come knocking. She lifted a hand and stroked his hair, sighing in contentment.

“Mmm. Good morning.”

"It's a very good morning," she agreed.

He nuzzled the curve of her neck, and she felt his lips on her skin. “We got time?”

"Over two hours till brunch," she confirmed, sliding her hand down his back.

“Oh, well. . .” he said, kissing her. “That’s time for twice.”

"Mmm," she mumbled, opening her mouth to him and melting under his touch. "We have a lot of time to make up for.”

They were very nearly late for brunch.

If anyone noticed they walked in together, they didn't say anything. Asima beelined over to her family, a little concerned if they sat next to each other one of them would get the other one in trouble. 

She sat next to Ada, who smiled at her, then made a face. Ada had a very expressive face, but Asima had no idea what she’d done that had so confused her sister. The Ada reached up and pulled the hair clip out of Asima’s hair, quickly brushing her hair over her shoulder. 

Pressing a hand to her neck she felt her cheeks heat. "Oh gods.”

Ada raised her eyebrows, but didn’t say anything. Asima reached out and grabbed the coffee carafe, busying herself pouring a cup.

Across the table, Franny and Neil continued whatever conversation they were having. “So you’re saying we _could_ have had a fancy wedding?”

“I’m just saying this is very chill and open, and I would have not found it unacceptable.”

“You really should do more than tolerate your own wedding day, honey.”

"In my defense, tolerate is the best I get with most social gatherings.”

Franny chuckled. “You said our wedding was fun.”

"It was the most entertaining wedding I had ever attended. This one is the second.”

“My wedding was fun,” Ada said.

Neil looked her dead in the eye, which was rare for him. “Your wedding was the seventh circle of sensory hell, and it was at dawn.”

Asima hadn't wanted to wade into this, but she felt the need to say, "I'm gonna side with Neil on this one, and I'm more or less neurotypical.”

“I had fun,” AB said.

“You were 12,” Neil replied.

“Fair enough.”

“Okay, it was a State Occasion,” Ada said. “I did the best I could.”

“Guys,” their mother said mildly.

"I enjoyed your wedding, too," Neil told her.

Asima loved her family, but sometimes all of them at one table was a little much. Still, they were all too busy talking to each other for anyone to notice she apparently had a hickey, and she was grateful for that.

Brunch moved on apace. There were a couple more toasts. Owen and Edie took it all in good humor. Then it was time for goodbyes. Asima went over to hug her friend. "Have a blast on your honeymoon. Send me tons of pictures.”

“I will, I promise. I promised Owen I wouldn’t nitpick every restaurant we eat in.”

"Honey, you shouldn't start a relationship on lies.”

“I’ll just make notes and start a blog later.”

"Good idea." She gave her another tight hug before letting her go to go hug someone else.

She turned and literally bumped into Roger, who was apparently standing behind her. He caught her arm. “Hey.”

"Hi," she said. "You gave me a hickey.”

His cheeks flushed. “Where?”

She gathered her hair up and lifted it off her shoulder to show him her neck. "Ada spotted it. I haven't been interrogated yet.”

He reached to touch the spot. “In my defense, it’s very small.”

"Ada's irritatingly observant." She let her hair swing back into place. "What's your plan for the rest of the day?”

“I have to work in 4 hours, and two of that will be eaten by the drive. . . but otherwise, I’m free.”

"Want to drive down together? I have to check out in the next half hour.”

“That sounds like a great idea.”

"Meet you in the lobby?”

He grinned. “As subtly as humanly possible.”

She smiled and bumped his hand with hers before turning away to head back to her room.

When she got down there, he’d apparently already checked out, and had the car waiting. It was one of the self driving Stark cars. As she was tossing her bag in the trunk she wondered if they were about to get pulled over for hooking up in a moving car.

Roger was grinning at her as she got in like he was thinking the same thing. “Hello.”

She held up her hands in fake shock. "Fancy meeting you here!”

“Feel like sharing a cab?”

"Seems only practical.”

He reached out to pull her close. “You think it’s illegal to fool around on the road?”

"I admit," she said, watching his mouth. "I'm not up to date on the sex in a self driving car laws.”

He slid his hand up her leg. “Maybe one of us needs to keep our eyes on the road.”

Heat pooled in her, anticipation tightening her skin. "Are you nominating me?”

His voice wasn’t much more than a whisper. “Think you can handle it?”

She shivered as he pressed his fingers against her through the thin cotton of her pants. "Only one way to find out.”

His hand found the buttons. “FRIDAY, turn the cameras off.”

There was a soft little beep as she obeyed, and then it was all Asima could do to focus on the road ahead of them and not close her eyes.

The did not get pulled over, but they certainly may have violated some sort of indecency laws. She’d never had sex in a moving car before, and it was kind of worth it. They went to his place because he had to work, and had enough time to leisurely share a meal, and shower.

They curled on the couch, watching the clock before he had to go. "As dates go, this was pretty fun," she offered.

“Is it enough? Will it be enough?”

"I figure the stupidly good sex will help us coast at least a few months." He poked her ribs and she giggled. "We'll make it enough. It's temporary. And I've been there, so I understand.”

“When do we tell people?” He paused. “And which of us tells Edie?”

"Not it!" she said immediately.

Roger laughed. “Really?”

"We could write her a nice note?”

He shifted to look at her better. “Do you think she’ll be upset?”

"I don't know. Maybe? I'm worried she might feel you're, like, stealing me.”

“She just got married. I think she’ll share.”

That was probably a good point. She played with the hem of his shirt. "She, at least, can wait until after her honeymoon. I was planning on calling my parents once I went home.”

He nodded. “I can call mine after shift. Though if your mother goes flying across the lawn to tell my mother, I won’t be mad.”

"I'll let her know." She tucked her hand under his shirt to feel bare skin. "I'm also going to call and tell Ruby.”

“I fear Ruby more than the Hulk,” he replied.

"That's probably wise. The Hulk will just kill you. Ruby will make you wish you were dead.”

“I think she thinks I’m still her brother’s irresponsible drinking buddy.”

"Probably a little bit, yeah. Though her brother is no longer an irresponsible drinker, so maybe she's modified her expectations.”

“I hope so. That is not a person you want to be on their bad side.”

"I'll sing your praises," she promised.

He sighed. “In the meantime, I probably should get to work.”

"Yeah." She sat up so he could stand. "I was thinking. Maybe I'll make us a joint calendar to put our schedules on. That way it will be easier to see when there's free time that lines up.”

“That is a brilliant idea.”

"I'm very smart. I'm a doctor, you know.”

“You are. I’ll call you when I’m off tomorrow?”

She gave a wry smile. "I'll be at work till six, but feel free to try me.”

He kissed her temple. “We’ll figure it out.”

"We will," she agreed. "We're very smart.”

*

Roger had a dinner break somewhere around 8pm and took the time to check his messages and email while waiting for his sandwich at the cafeteria. He was unsurprised to find a message from his mother. _Finally, one of my children is dating a doctor._

_Aunt Violet told you?_ he replied.

_With unabashed glee. Apparently Ada figured out Asima had hooked up with someone at the wedding and Violet bet on you._

Roger stared at his phone in surprise. _Really?_

_I'm not sure which part of that you find hard to believe, but yes. Ada had narrowed it down to three suspects, You, Joey, or AJ. They discounted Joey on personality and bet between you and AJ._

_There were like 200 people at that wedding. I could have been anyone._

_Ada had an algorithm discounting people based on marital status, age, familiarity, and personal type._

_Oh, for God’s sake._

_I know dear, our family is maddening. Can we talk about the ADORABLE grand babies you two could give me?_

_Mom!_ Roger put his phone back in his pocket and took his sandwich.

_I'll assume that's a no. Are you happy?_

He stared at it for a long moment, then typed, _Very. You have no idea._

_Good. That's all that matters._

_Thank you._

_I'm sure you're on the clock. Take care of yourself, get some sleep, I love you, etc._

_I love you, Mom._

He flicked through the rest of his messages, then checked his mail to find Asima had, indeed, sent him an invite for a joint calendar. He accepted it and found she had filled in her schedule for the next six weeks, including her work, volunteer hours and a couple of lunches and theater dates with Ruby and his sister.

When he got home, he filled in his own schedule, and sent her a message to call or come over whenever.

He took a shower and a nap, waking when his phone pinged with a text from her. _I'm here and I have dinner._

Roger buzzed her up and met her at the door. “I need to get you a key.”

"That would be helpful," she agreed, stretching up to kiss him. 

He kissed her back, pulling her into his apartment without breaking the kiss. He took the bag of food from her so he could back her against the door.

"Mmm," she hummed, arching against him. "I missed you, too.”

After a moment he stepped back and said, “But I am hungry.”

"I brought Indian," she told him.

He laughed. “You hate Indian.”

"I found some dishes I liked when I was there. And then I found a place that makes them when I got back.”

He brought the bag to the table, and unpacked the cartons. “I talked to my mother.”

Asima's brows went up. "How did that go? Am I going to get a visit?”

“Our mothers seem to be thrilled.”

"Yeah, apparently I won her a bet.”

Roger went and got plates for their food. “Our families are great.”

"You were right," she conceded, sinking into one of his kitchen chairs. "No teasing, just joy.”

“Mine too. Asked about grandchildren.”

She laughed brightly. "Well, diverse genetic blends do tend to make adorable children.”

“I am grateful I didn’t get a treatise on genetics. You know how she is.”

"She's probably saving it for face to face.”

He dished out dinner for a moment, and then risked a look at her. “How do you feel about that?”

"Genetics?" she asked, brow furrowed.

“Kids.”

"Oh! Oh, I want kids. Not, like, this year. I want to establish my career a bit more, get some seniority, that kind of thing. But yeah, I always pictured having kids.”

Roger grinned. “Good. Me too. But like, after my fellowship is done.”

"Right. That's a problem for future us.”

“How about current us has some dinner, and then go fool around?”

"Present day Asima thinks that's an awesome idea."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep wanting to write an epilogue. Will reopen if we get around to that.
> 
> We've got a couple of other Legacy stories in progress, so there should be another posting in not too long.


End file.
